Accepting Changes
by zaya54938
Summary: Takes place in Shippuden. Sai leaves Konoha and Sakura is devastated at the loss of another teammate. Her trust thins as she gets a new one. Elsewhere, Shikamaru gets a new, interesting teammate that he got stuck with. ShikamaruxOC ; SakuraxOC
1. Prologue

**Accepting Changes**

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own any of the characters from Naruto

**Summary:**

Takes place in Shippuden isn't that easy to come across anymore, and 2 people might be turned away from Konoha when they are on the run from rogue ninja and need a place to stay.

**Pairings:**

Shikamaru/OC , Sakura/OC

**Prologue**

"Shikamaru move!" Ino shouted as Shikamaru was bombarded with shuriken. He disappeared in a puff of smoke and in his place a log. Shikamaru appeared behind the enemy, stabbing a kunai full force in his back. He scanned the field, taking in his surroundings, strategies already creating themselves in his head. He could see his team in over their head and he couldn't do anything about it. Choji had his hands full fighting three enemy ninja, Naruto, unconscious from an earlier ambush, being protected by Sakura who was holding her own against four opposing enemies, and Ino was getting knocked around; she was being attacked at every angle by several enemy ninja after losing focus by giving him that warning. He used a jutsu, stretching his shadow and capturing most of Ino's attackers. The attackers captured froze, unable to move. The shadow snaked its way to each of their necks and one by one; each of them snapped. Ino gained her bearings and fought the others back; her movements fluid and rhythmic as she danced around the area.

Sakura finished off her final offender and turned to Naruto, "I can heal him, cover me." She dropped to her knees and began to perform hand signs, her hands glowing greenish as she traced them over his wounds. Shikamaru was instantly at her side, observing the field for any surprise attacks. It didn't take long for Naruto to be healed but he was still unconscious. "We have to retreat Shikamaru."

"Don't you think I know that," he replied, still looking through the place, " they surrounded us; we can't go anywhere."

"So what, we fight and lose," the question was more rhetorical than anything.

"I went through any plans I can think of; I just need more time." Shikamaru put his fingertips together, dropped to the ground, and closed his eyes, racking his brain of anything he could've missed.

"We don't have any time," Sakura said, deflecting a kunai thrown at the other with one of her own, she looked at her unconscious friend, "Naruto, wake up; we need you."

Choji and Ino were fighting for their lives, holding off everyone around them; Ino was throwing rapid shuriken while the other already extended the size of his body, rolling over any enemy he could. Then suddenly as Choji jumped in the air, his body shrunk back to normal and he fell, face first, into the ground. He rolled over in time to see several shuriken that were coming his way be deflected by none other than Ino.

"I'm out of chakra," Choji explained as he got behind Ino.

"Now," Ino went wide-eyed, "this clearly isn't the best time."

"I know that, gimme a break." he retorted, trying to caught his breath. Things weren't looking good for any of the hidden leaf ninja. They were severely out numbered and running out of energy, "we need to retreat."

"Yeah I know," she replied to the obvious statement, "but we're surrounded. We'll find some way out of here. See Shikamaru over there, he'll get us out of here." Choji only nodded and gathered his weapons, ready to help Ino when needed.

Shikamaru still sat there, trying to think of anything to get them out of this situation. But, his mind came up blank. He didn't know what to do, and that scared him more than anything else that was going on at the moment. This mission they were sent on was a trap, and they walked right into it. He scanned the area one last time before getting up and entering back into the on going battle.

"Shikamaru, I've been thinking," Sakura hesitated as she spoke, "there is one way to get mos--"

"I already went through the plan," he cut her off bluntly, then spat "if we were to do that, one of us wouldn't be leaving and I'm not willing to let that happen." He snapped at her, giving her an hard glare for even voicing that idea. She faltered. Shikamaru just ignored it, he'll apologize to her later.

"Hey, this mission's not over yet!" all eyes went to the source of the loud noise as the loud teen jumped into the battle, slashing enemies left and right.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled with joy. Seeing him awaken gave her more strength than usual. Her chakra induced strikes becoming faster and stronger. Ino relaxed as most of her enemies went to fight the blond haired boy but she still kept herself on edge as she wasn't just fighting for herself, she was fighting for Choji as well. Shikamaru still didn't trust it; something just wasn't right. Then, Shikamaru realized it was another trap.

"Naruto, don't use your shadow clones!" Shikamaru yelled, but it was too late. Naruto had already performed the hand signs and created more of himself. They all stood there cocky and ready to fight, but before they could do anything, the floor collapsed and below it lay millions of kunai. The Naruto clones and the enemy ninja they were fighting all fell, skewered by the sharp objects. But an unknown ninja hopped over the pitfall, catching the real Naruto and bringing him to stable land. Everyone was confused as this eerie white haired character stood in front of them, facing the opposite way, gathering himself.

"Who are you?" Shikamaru was the first to break the silence, the bored expression on his face for first impressions.

"Is that how you treat people that save your friend's life," the sarcasm was evident in the ninja's deep, menacing voice, "that info's irrelevant, anyway."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, getting the strangers attention, "thanks for the help, I'm Uzamaki Naruto." He went to go shake his hand but Shikamaru's voice cut through the air.

"There, you got a name, now what's yours?"

"Don't take too kindly to strangers huh," the man commented smugly, "relax kid, we're on the same team." The man began walking away but paused, "oh, yeah, if a girl comes up to any of you, just tell her you met me. Later, Uzamaki Naruto and others."

"Th-Thanks again," this time it was Sakura that spoke, her voice a little shaky after what almost happened.

"They call me Pulse," was all he said and with that, the image of him pulsed and faded away.

"I see how he got his name," Ino commented while Choji insisted they leave since he was out of chakra and no one was in any condition to fight. Everyone agreed and left, Sakura and Ino occasionally healing them one by one when they replenished their chakra.

**A/N: I'll continue this story if I get reviews saying I should**


	2. False Encounters

**Accepting Changes**

**Chapter One**

"Tsunade-sama, we were ambushed," Sakura explained as she busted through the door to the Hokage's office. It took them a day to get back to the village, they were all exhausted but someone had to report their mission progress. She volunteered herself. "The mission was a trap."

Tsunade's eyes widened, "Is everyone okay?" Sakura was given time to take in her surroundings and noticed a few extra people in the room: Shizune was walking back and forth throughout the room gathering random papers, Kakashi was just standing there looking confused and rather angry, and two other people she couldn't recognize.

The first was a black haired girl, sitting down to the side as if she was waiting for something; she had a green sleeveless form fitting turtle-neck shirt. She wore a black mini skirt and sandal-boots, and a pair black gloves that extended up her arm, stopping just short half way up her biceps.

The other was standing in front the Hokage's desk, he was turned away from her. He wore a white sleeveless jacket, a blood red long sleeve shirt could be seen underneath it but the right sleeve was missing. That shirt was tucked into a pair of black baggy pants that hung loosely around his waist and fell over his sandals; his black fingerless glove covered hands hung at his sides. His short white hair fell down his head, the end of it being covered by the collar of his jacket.

"You!" Sakura yelled and pointed at the unknown white haired man. He turned around and she was sure it was the same white haired man that saved her teammate. A million questions ran through her head as she saw the recognition in his eyes, he remembered her, and secretly, she was happy. She shook her head and everybody just looked at her, but she ignored it until Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Sakura, I asked if everyone was okay," Tsunade repeated, feeling some of the extra tension building up in the room. Sakura dropped her hand.

"They're fine, Naruto was ambushed and injured and I healed him mostly, then he ended up saving us. He set off a trap that killed most of the enemy ninja and almost got himself killed until _someone _jumped in and caught him," she explained, her eyes never leaving the mysterious man.

"I see, well since it seems like you two already know each other, I don't need to do any intro--"

"Actually, I never got his name," Tsunade was interrupted, you could see the confusion on her face.

"Alright then, Sakura Haruno, this is Kenji Okaida, your new teammate," the Hokage didn't wait for her student to respond, "Sai left."

Sakura's eyes widened, that was like a weight dropped on her shoulders. Another teammate left her, and she couldn't do anything about it, again. She was stunned and went numb. She mumbled an inaudible 'okay' and left the room. She kept walking, she didn't know where her feet were taking her. She didn't notice anyone she walked by, she was in her own world. She found a door, opened it and stepped through; being hit by the air of mid-day, she stepped by all the pedestrians as she walked to the Ramen Shop. As she stepped in, she noticed Naruto and took a seat next to him.

Naruto was stuffing his face with ramen, not even noticing Sakura until a bowl was sat down next to him. "Hey, Sakura," he yelled, practically spitting food at her, in his usual joyful way. She just sat there, stirring her soup with a far away look on her face. Naruto's face instantly dropped serious, "What's wrong?"

"Sai left," she muttered, and after that she let go of everything, "first Sasuke, now Sai, it's because I'm weak isn't it," she spat bitterly. "I don't get it, I try to get stronger everyday but I just end up pushing people away, making them leave the village. What's next, you, Kakashi, hell, Tsunade, and she's the Hokage. I just don't get it, you know? And just like that, he was replaced; by the guy that saved you nonetheless, I'm just lost, and confused and, and I hate it. But, at the same time, I have to accept it because I can't fight it or get away from it."

"That sucks," he commented, swallowing the food in his mouth, "I get what you're thinking, but it's not your fault. Sai left on his own accord, not because of anyone but himself. It can't be your fault if you did nothing wrong."

"Really, and how would you know that? You weren't exactly here when he left," she muttered defensively, she kept her face down. She knew Naruto didn't deserve her anger, no one did, but she had to vent on someone and she knew he would understand. They had enough of these conversations for him to get used to her nerves and emotions.

"If I remember, you weren't there when he left either. And like I told you before, I get what you're thinking. I used to think like that all the time. I thought would push people away and whatever but I realized, people can be cruel and you need thick skin to handle it. So you just got to relax and handle it. Besides, your anger's not going to bring Sai, or even Sasuke, back."

"Thanks," the sarcasm practically leaked from her lips. But there was a smile there as she got up and left, leaving her bowl of untouched soup on the ledge.

Naruto just grinned and grabbed her bowl, then scowled when he realized something, "Sakura, you left me with your bill again!"

Her smile grew as she jogged away. Back to the Hokage's office.

* * *

"What was that all about?" Kenji asked as he looked around.

"That's really not important at the moment," Kakashi commented, "So your nineteen. What's your specialty?"

"Chakra control," Kenji answered almost automatically, "my kekei genkai allows me to control anything weak-willed that I put my chakra into."

"Impressive, any signature moves?" he continued his questions, "I mean, I have to know my _teammates_ specialties and limitations." he commented with little annoyance.

"Actually I do have one, a move I created sometime ago. I call it the Chakra Discharge. It's like using chakra induced strength with no contact, forcing the chakra out of my fist," Kakashi was answered swiftly, Kenji wasn't completely affected by the interrogation, "and, it's alright, I keep up to date with my knowledge, so I know all the information I need about the team I'm on."

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched in amusement as he continued to grill him with questions. And every question asked, Kenji answered easily; the cycle kept going on until Sakura walked through the open door, then all went silent. She walked up to Kenji and offered him a hand, apologizing for the way she acted before. He effortlessly took it. "Sorry again," she told him. Kakashi asked if she had a talk with Naruto, "Yeah." And everything was back to normal, all the awkwardness and tension was gone, for most. The newest teammate felt a little out of place and thought something was wrong but couldn't put his finger on it; that is, until Sakura left.

"Is there still something wrong with Sakura?" the question left his mouth before he could even process it. Everyone in the room just looked at him, except for the girl still sitting in the chair. She hadn't said anything since she sat down and honestly, Kenji forgot she was there.

"No, why?" Tsunade asked, clueless to what the white haired man could be talking about.

"Nothing," he responded, confused about the entire encounter the had with the mysterious and extremely baffling girl. Then he left the office in search of her, he had questions and he wanted answers.

* * *

He found her in a clearing but, when he called her name, she didn't answer. He walked up and sat down next to her, leaning against a tree. She had her eyes closed and, to his knowledge, she didn't know he was there; so, he just stared at her, taking in her appearance. His eyes, to his vision, scanned her entire body. He was so lost in thought about this perplexing women, he didn't notice her open her eyes and scream as she crawled back. "What are you doing here, how did you find this place."

"I was looking for you, I have some questions to ask you," he said dully, as he just took in regard that she moved at all.

"What if I don't have, or don't want to give you, the answers you want?" she replied innocently, but he knew she was toying with him and he wouldn't have anymore of it.

"You faked your entire personality when you came back to her office, why?" he ignored her question.

"What makes you think that? I mean, you've only known me for what, a day and a half and you already think you know me well enough to know that I'm lying about something. It doesn't really make sense that you would think that," the innocent look on her face never left and he would have believed her if it hadn't been for the gut feeling he had, and the fact that she answered him almost mockingly.

"I don't know, truthfully, you're a good actress. But something about you seemed off; now can you answer my question?" that last part was more like a demand then a question. He was getting tired of her act. And from the look on her face, which was slowly losing it's innocence, she was getting annoyed with his persistent questions.

"Fine," her face dropped and she scowled, "the truth is, I don't trust you." It came out harsher than intended but she didn't care, she just wanted him to leave.

"Ouch," he faked being hurt, "I wouldn't expect you to trust me, you just met me. But I think that you should've started trusting me ever since I saved Naruto."

"Like saving someone allows you trust them," she said sarcastically, "that only works with normal people, not ninjas."

"Ninja aren't normal people," he sounded offended, "you really need to get your priorities straight." He was definitely getting annoyed, they both knew that. But she was do a fine of avoiding each of his questions. She would make an interrogator tear their hair out. Then out of nowhere, she got up and began to walk away, "Hey, where are you going?"

She stopped and turned back, "This conversation is going nowhere, you're not going to get any more answers from me, and truthfully, I'm getting bored." And with that, she left. Kenji wasn't confused anymore. He knew she was just plain mean, or she was hiding something and being a very good ninja about it. He was pretty sure it was the latter, so he just had to figure out what she was hiding. And he would, because, she was a mystery he was getting used to being around.

**A/N: Well, there's chapter 1 enjoy**


	3. Timid People Are Fun

**Accepting Changes**

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own any of the characters from Naruto

**Chapter 2**

A poof of smoke went up in Shikamaru's apartment, taking his concentration off game with Choji. A random shinobi in black, most likely from the main building of the hokage, appeared in the living area. He tossed Shikamaru a scroll and told him the Hokage wanted to him. Then just like that, the ninja was gone.

"Does the happen a lot?" Choji asked confused, noticing that Shikamaru didn't notice any kind weirdness at all.

"No, but I told Tsunade-sama that I wouldn't mind if she did it," he replied, still concentrating on his game. And with one final move, he ended it, "looks like I win again Choji." He got up from his sitting position and went for the door. He put on his sandals, opened the door and pause, looking back, "don't forget to lock up when you leave." And like that he was gone. And Choji still just sat there confused, at the game and what just happened.

Shikamaru was walking through the streets of Konoha with a blank expression on his face, still thinking why he was being called to the Hokage's office…alone. If it were a mission then the messenger would've told Choji to go as well. He stuff his fists in his pockets and clenched his jaw at his baffled mind. 'Things always had to be so troublesome,' he thought, as he knocked on the door of the Sanin's office and waited to be acknowledged. He heard a muffled 'come in' and the door swung open. "You wanted to see me," he said, as he stepped through the open doorway, closing it behind him.

"Ah, Shikamaru, I called on you nearly an hour ago," Tsunade commented, a hint of agitation in her tone, "What took you so long?"

"I walked, I was trying to figure out what you would call just me for," his eyes fell on a girl sitting on a bench to the left of her desk. She was looking at him and his eyes hardened; she quickly looked away.

"I see you noticed our guess," Tsunade rolled her eyes; she wasn't stupid, and glare he sent the girl's way clearly told her that he knew where she was from, "she is going to be your newest teammate."

"Tsunade-sama, she's Sound ninja," Shikamaru objected, never talking his eyes off of the girl's downcast form, "are you sure that's smart for a time like now. My team was, just, ambushed by the likes of them."

"She's not apart of the Sound village anymore, Shikamaru," Tsunade countered, her stare just as hard as his, "most ninja left the sound soon after the entire incident with Orochimaru."

"H-he gave the S-Sound a bad name," the girl stuttered timidly. She tried looking back at Shikamaru but only got a cold stare so looked back down.

"That's only because the Sound is made of bad people or do you not remember the ambush they did on us about three years ago. You know, the one that killed our Hokage," he spat spitefully, hating the fact that she was in his presence.

"You can't blame all the ninja from the Sound for one group of people. It's just not right. That would mean none of us could be trusted because of Sasuke's departure and treacherous ways," Tsunade smirked, she knew she had him since he glanced at her, "if you went by that then you would be a hypocrite. Now ending that conversation, Shikamaru Nara, this is Asuka Saiou."

"Hi," the shy girl tried again weakly, but it was just brushed off by the, rather angry, boy again.

"I want you to show her town, and she's staying at your apartment. She needs to feel comfortable around her captain," she smirked at the gaping jaws of both people she was speaking of, "How did you know she was Sound so fast?"

"We met before, on my latest mission actually, you know, the one where we got ambushed," he commented a little more than needed, "she was one of the nicer people's daughter."

"I see," Tsunade observed the girl as she continued to glance at Shikamaru then look away blushing, "you two are excused."

* * *

Shikamaru turned around and walked to the door, "Well, are you coming?" he barked nonchalantly at the girl as he opened the door and left through it. Asuka got up and ran to catch up with him.

Shikamaru opened the door to his apartment and realized the door was unlocked. He just brushed off the irritation for later and moved to the side to let Asuke in. She hesitated, but walked swiftly inside, to the couch, hoping the offer wouldn't be taken away. Shikamaru smirked and entered himself, from how she acted when he was showing her around, he got used to the way she did things. He sat down next to her and she blushed tremendously, looking down and twiddling her thumbs. He only spent one day with her and his perspective of her completely changed, and it annoyed him. He never knew someone could have that kind of power over him; someone he just met, at that. He wanted to get back at her, for having some kind of effect on him, but doing that would be childish. But, at the moment, he didn't care. So he began to push her buttons, he got up and removed his vest. Asuka's eyes never left him as he walked into his bedroom, her blush getting darker while Shikamaru's unnoticeable smirk was getting bigger. He stepped out of the room, shirtless, and sat back down next to her; this time, he was turned facing her, leaning against the armrest his leg tucked into his chest.

He started up casual conversation, "So do you have any specialties?" The words came out flirtatious, each letter hinted at different means.

"A-a-ah," she just stuttered, her eyes continuously shifting from his chest to there downward position, "I-I-I can create extremely strong s-sound waves with without using a-any chakra, then use it to make b-barriers and s-such. "

"Really?" now he was interested, "are there any draw-backs I should know about?" He leant forward, forgetting the ways he was affecting her.

"Her entire face was red now, "I-It puts a strain on my body--can I use your bathroom?" she swiftly said, her eye's dead set on the floor.

He noticed why she was so wound up, "Sure, through the hallway, second door to the left." She hopped up and practically ran there. Shikamaru just smirked as realization dawned on him, "Troublesome women." After a day like that, he knew he could get used to having her around.

**A/N: personally, I hate this chapter. I don't think Shikamaru would have conflicting emotions like that. And I'm not a real fan of romance novels, so this is a chapter I might change.**

**Also, if you think the story is starting off slow, bare with me; all great stories start off slow and it's going to speed up sooner or later anyway.**


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